Vincenzo

Yesterday Teong Rhen and I headed over to Bangsar for my birthday dinner. We tried this Italian restaurant along the One Bangsar strip called Vincenzo. Like all the restaurants in the One Bangsar area, Vincenzo occupies a 2-storey banglo with its own garden and quaint landscape.

I liked the ambience and rustic interior design of the place. We were shocked to find that the inside was fully booked at 6:30PM so we had to settle for the garden, which wasn't at all a problem because it had just rained earlier and the weather outside was simply perfect.

Unfortunately Teong Rhen had a terrible migraine and my appetite wasn't very good therefore we only ordered one main course each, otherwise we would have dug into a 3-course meal but I suppose there's always a next time.

Having decided to go for something typically Italian, I had the Ravioli Ricotta. My verdict? Very good with the first few bites but I got really sick of it halfway. I like ricotta very much but to me it only works well in desserts (lasagna aside). This dish was a tad too rich, what with the pesto sauce and cream and everything. Great for sharing, though!

Teong Rhen went for Pan-Seared Halibut with Scallops. I LOVE. The halibut, placed on top of a medley of sautéed vegetables, was very fresh - which is most important when having fish. The scallops were seared medium rare which was perfect cos I was able to taste the sweetness inside. Great dish! No regrets.

I wanted so badly to have their famous chocolate torte which looked SO amazing but I was on the verge of throwing up thanks to the ravioli, so we'll save the desserts for next time.

Overall... I liked Vincenzo. Great ambience - green and serene, good food, helpful waiters... price-wise - not very nice to our wallets. In fact I wouldn't say it was really worth it. But like I always say (and it's actually very bad =P): ONCE IN AWHILE NEVERMIND MA.

Oh well.

Vincenzo Restorante Italiano
One Bangsar,
63H Jalan Ara,
Bangsar Baru,
59100 KL.
Tel: 0322871686

The Big 2-1

So I turn 21 today. No big deal. Not that I was expecting a 180 degree change when I transit into "adulthood"... coz, obviously, that would be stupid.

I'm glad I celebrated it in style =) Was seriously depressed for not being able to hold a tea party at Bisou, especially after seeing someone else have a tea party with the EXACT same food I was going to have when I went to pick up my cupcakes. BLAH. But Sky Bar was fine and I'm glad it went well (the damn heat aside). I was also sort of dreading treating 24 people to drinks... haha... but upon seeing the bill I was SHOCKED that it was much less than what I had expected to spend. HEEEH. Extra money for me now ;) It wouldn't really have mattered anyway because everyone enjoyed their drinks and that was most important.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to come to the party. Oh and thanks for the lovely gifts!!! Thanks Teong Rhen for everything. And Pei for following me to Bisou twice. And Ho Wai for going all the way to get Wondermilk cuppacakes to surprise me. Thanks to those who weren't there but were kind enough to call/SMS/write on my Facebook wall.

Pictures, as usual, are already up on Facebook because those with cameras are just so efficient. And since the purpose of this post would be defeated without some pictures, here they are! =)

My wonderful gifts!!!

A diamond encrusted cross from my beloved parents.

Elizabeth Arden Mediterranean Breeze perfume from dear Teong Rhen.

Eastern European silver bracelet and a key from his parents.

A lovely dress and a pug puppy folder from Pei!

Kumar & Clark Clinical Medicine from Ho Wai, Mich, Merv, Tracy, Ben & Joon for the nerd in me!

The super nice and cute mug + notebook from Yilin, Red & Adrian! SO TOTALLY ME!

6-coloured lip gloss from Edwina, Kwan, Amanda, Huiling & Suisse!

2 bottles of nail polish + photo frame from Amrita, Maya, Malini, Abhilash, Divya & Priya [who unfortunately couldn't make it coz she was unwell. Poor girl =(]

And a box of chocolates from Renuka!

Love 'em all =)

Awaiting gifts from : PRISCILLA MICHAEL, CHONG JIANG MUN, ELIZABETH SONIA.
hahahahahaha. I know la i very mengada SO WHAT.

Damn You Archie

EDIT (22 May): DAVID COOK WINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unbelievable. Sad for the cry baby, though, but if you were to put the whole competition into perspective Cook really deserves to win hands down. So happy ;)

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I had a terribly LONG day, having to wake up at 6:45 this morning for a clinic visit all the way in Mantin (N. Sembilan). I was seriously dreading it because all the past clinic visits or whatever shit visits we've had were such a waste of time, so I assumed this would be the same.

Turns out it wasn't! I actually enjoyed myself very much. We followed a nurse into an orang asli settlement to follow up on a 24 year old who gave birth 4 days ago. The place was actually in a jungle! But it was pretty nice and serene - streams, durian trees, wooden bridges... the simple life.

The scary part was that the house we had to go to was somewhere on top of a hill, and the only access to it was by foot. And mind you the slope leading up to it was dangerous and muddy! Shelva and I had to hold on to each other coz we were so afraid we would fall! Well we finally made our way up to the quaint little house. Obviously not very nice and comfortable, and we were sweating like pigs there because it was so hot and stuffy. But that didn't bother us because upon seeing the baby we were very amazed! A 4-day old baby! WITH A LOT OF HAIR. Cute la. And this is ME talking. I, who have no feelings whatsoever towards kids, actually thought he was cute. Maybe I'm changing la I dunno la and I tell you a secret ok I actually like OBGYN a lot =/

OK ANYWAY. We observed a physical examination of the baby and the mother, palpated her uterus... (And it was very awkward when the nurse kept massaging her [as in the mother's] breasts. Not a very nice sight.)

The most interesting thing we got out of this home visit? Was when we found out the mother actually walked DOWN the slope at 2AM in the morning when she went into labour, gave birth at Seremban Hospital at 5AM, and went UP the slope back home the very next day. How she could do it is beyond me. I mean there we were, 5 reasonably fit students who struggled to climb up and down, when a 9-month pregnant woman could descend in the dark and ascend the very next day! Geez! So embarrassing.

After the home visit it was back to the Maternal & Child Health Clinic. Saw some interesting things like a prenatal ultrasound. Saw the fetal heart beating. It was awesome. Oh and I palpated a pregnant woman's uterus AND ACTUALLY FELT THE FETAL HEAD!!!!!!!!!!! Very cool OK.

All in all it was a fruitful visit. The new IMU nurse (forgot her name) was VERY nice. Taught us quite a lot, like what to expect for OSCE and stuff. Finally, one of the visits arranged by IMU was good. =P

Rushed to the student lounge after lectures back in IMU. I never liked the student lounge. It has a weird smell. But today I had to go because............... I HAD TO WATCH THE AMERICAN IDOL FINALS! Coz I no ASTRO in Bukit Jalil =(

Unfortunately it ended up being so disappointing because David Cook just lost it. All 3 songs were absolutely the wrong choices. I really really struggle to say this but Archuleta will win. People always ask what I have against Archuleta. I admit at first I did like him after watching his rendition of Imagine because it was simply mind-blowingly good (as we saw again in the finals), but as the competition progressed I realized all he could do was ballads. He has a great voice, no doubt, but I can't stand his FACE! Face problem! He looks perpetually worried, as if he's on the verge of crying every second. SO. DAMN. ANNOYING.

But today he stole the show. And I am mad. Because this was the worst David Cook had ever performed.

But it's OK. Even if Archuleta wins, he will probably be like Taylor Hicks. I mean even if he comes up with an album, who's actually going to listen? Would you want to listen to 12 boring ballads non stop? NO! BLEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. David Cook will make it big. You'll see. =P

Mother's Day

I was feeling utterly melancholic this morning when I wished my mum "Happy Mother's Day", simply because it's the 4th year in a row that I'm not home for this very occasion. Then I went to ECF church and am now very much uplifted after their Mother's Day service.

Ps Timothy cleverly came up with 10 jobs a mother juggles at once, saying that if she gets paid for each of those jobs, she should be earning about $150,000 a month. LOL.

1) Housekeeper
2) Teacher
3) Counselor
4) Day Care Worker
5) Cleaner
6) Driver
7) Facility Manager
8) CEO
9) Accountant
10) Cook

I don't know how many of you can identify your mothers with those listed above but I can say that out of the 10, my mum is all but #4 because she has her own real job during the day =P And yeah I'm already so big I don't need day care la.

I'm sure we all take our mothers for granted so often that we constantly need someone else to remind us of how much they have sacrificed for us. How sad is that? I mean, it's always during that ONE miserable day of the year, Mother's Day, that we take the time to reminisce the wonderful things our mothers have done for us, then the next day we go back to being our selfish, insensitive, oblivious selves and not realise that our mothers have possibly the toughest jobs in the world.

For instance, I can be very impatient with my mother. You don't know the number of times I've snapped at her. WAYYYYY too many. In my mind it seems as though she enjoys getting on my nerves for the fun of it but in fact she's just overly concerned about my well-being. See? I'm aware of it. I just can't help acting that way.

I need to quit being such an idiot towards my mother! I think all of us do! Therefore let's start reminding ourselves about all the honourable things our mothers have done for/shown towards us:

1) Their never-ending love.
No matter how difficult I can be, my mum handles me with utmost patience... like how she was willing to take a week off work to accompany me to Chinese school when I was in Std 1 because I just REFUSED to go. In the end she knew I couldn't go to that school so she put her foot down and told my dad and grandpa, who were so adamant about getting me into a Chinese school heaven knows why, that I had to switch to another school. Well she got her way, I got my way, I was happy and I turned out to be more than just fine =)

2) Their willingness to sacrifice.
... from all the small teeny-weeny lil things like giving me the best part of the chicken meat to sacrificing many nights of sleep to take care of me when I was hospitalised.

3) They always believe in us.
My mum has never discouraged me in anything unless it's something bad or irrational =P I think the fact that I'm here doing what I'm doing - still striving and surviving - says it all. I've had numerous breakdowns in college and medical school because sometimes I feel it's just impossible to move forward, but besides God, I find solace in my mother, NOT because she tells me things I want to hear, but because knowing that she believes in me strengthens me to successfully fight the struggles within myself.

4) Their incredible energy.
I don't get how mothers have so much energy to get through each day. They can do almost ANYTHING! I know my mother is a superwoman because she has never ever said she was tired when I needed her.

5) Passing on of FAITH to children.
The best gift to children is faith but unfortunately I can't experience this because my mother has little faith herself. I guess in in a way she did play a part in my having faith in God through of all the events that have happened... but I'm still praying hard for her.

2 Timothy 1:5 says, "... when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also."

Timothy's mother and grandmother, Eunice and Lois, were early Christian converts. They had communicated their strong Christian faith to Timothy, even though his father was probably not a believer. God doesn't want mothers to hide their light at home but to plant gospel seeds as families are fertile fields.

In my case, it's going to be the other way around! So please pray with me!

OK enough preaching for now. Here's a video which I think is absolutely hilarious because IT IS SO MY MOTHER! And I'm sure most of your mothers are like that too. Enjoy!

Things from the video that REALLY REALLY remind me of my mum:

1) Are you hot? Are you cold? Are you wearing that?!

2) Eat your breakfast, the experts tell us it's the most important meal of all! (this is why I never skip breakfast)

3) Don't forget your piano lesson is this afternoon! (she used to know my schedule better than i did)

4) Clean your room, fold your clothes, put your stuff away (she still says this each time I go home for the weekend/a holiday)

5) No texting at the table

6) But right now I thank you not to roll your eyes at me (LOL I'm still working on this)

7) If all your friends jumped off a cliff would you jump too? (except that she says, "If your friends eat shit you eat shit also ah?")

Entry With Most Labels =P

OKAY. I've abandoned my blog for quite some time now. Have been rather busy/lazy... or busy being lazy...

So many things have come and gone. This is possibly the most fun time of the year! Better enjoy it like no tomorrow before lecture notes start piling up again. And by the looks of it, that time is drawing near =(

Important updates:

The University of Nottingham, UK is now a partner medical school of IMU starting from my batch! I am so excited. I may consider the option depending on the fees (since it's 3 1/2 years instead of 3 - half a year for bridging, which means more money to be spent =/). I wanna go!

Ho Wai turned 22 on Wednesday! Had a "SURPRISE" thing at Vista B poolside the night before but it super tak jadi. Instead it was he who surprised us by showing up without warning. Bloody. So memalukan. But all was forgotten by Wednesday coz we celebrated his big day in style, indulged in some delicious Thai food (as generously treated by the birthday boy himself) ... topped off with (what else but) tonnes of camwhoring. Thankfully everyone turned up looking really good instead of looking like vegetables/supporters of a Go Green campaign. Party of the year? Probably. =)

Been attending batch CG sessions. I like.

Decided to start going to ECF (Edwina, Pei & Priscilla's church) from now onwards.

American Idol down to final 3! So exciting. David Cook will make David Archuleta bawl like a baby in the finals. Carly should have been in the Top 3! I angry.

Mother's Day is tomorrow and I won't be home. Again. But will be back next weekend coz we have Monday off. Can't wait.

I am actually enjoying Repro very much, PBLs aside.

More birthdays to come! INCLUDING A VERY SPECIAL PERSON'S. i.e. MINE. muaha.